


Drowning in the Snow

by Soulvaren5555



Series: Clone Wars Febuwhump 2021 [8]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Ahsoka Tano Needs a Hug, Ahsoka Tano Whump, Ahsoka Tano-centric, Anakin and Obi-Wan only show up at the end but they're still important, Avalanches, Buried Alive, Fear of Death, FebuWhump2021, Gen, Hurt Ahsoka Tano, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, No Beta We Die Like Clones, Snow sucks, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 16:00:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29353101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soulvaren5555/pseuds/Soulvaren5555
Summary: Febuwhump 2021 - Day 9: Buried aliveAhsoka gets buried under an avalanche. She has roughly fifteen minutes before she suffocates.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano
Series: Clone Wars Febuwhump 2021 [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2139531
Comments: 1
Kudos: 64





	Drowning in the Snow

**Author's Note:**

> I stayed up until 4:30 in the morning to write this what is wrong with me-
> 
> Anyways, being buried alive is one of my worst fears, it's a terrible way to go. I've never watched Buried (2010), but given it's an entire movie about being buried alive, I might have nightmares if I watch it O_O;
> 
> Let's just say writing this one was interesting, in that sense!

The first thing that came to Ahsoka’s attention when she woke up, lying face-down on the ground, was the cold. She was enveloped in it, harsh and bitter cold nipping at the skin not covered by her fluffy coat. She could hear the wind whistling sharply past her, yet it sounded muffled and faraway. There was little room to breathe, having only a small pocket of air.

She tried to move her arm forward, but it wouldn’t budge. Both arms were trapped at her sides, her legs bound as well. She swallowed, pushing down the rising panic from being unable to move. She needed to figure out where exactly she was and what happened to her first.

Her eyes had trouble focusing at first, but when she was finally able to clear her vision, she noticed a few more things. Her surroundings were white. She could pick out nothing else but bright snow and her own foggy breath. If it weren’t for that, she would have thought she was about to faint; sometimes the world would fade to white before it disappeared into black.

It was then that the reality of her situation hit her like a tank.

There was an avalanche. She had been driving a speeder behind Anakin and Obi-Wan, and before she knew what was happening, she was swept up by the accelerating snow, falling off of her speeder in the process. She temporarily lost consciousness as it carried her away, unable to hear either of her Masters exclaiming her name. She only regained consciousness after she came to a stop.

She was immobilized and struggling to get air into her lungs because she’d been buried alive.

Immediately thinking of Geonosis, she reminded herself that this wasn’t the first time she experienced something like this. She’d been buried by rubble before, hidden from the outside world and faced with the prospect of suffocating or starving to death. However, it was the first time she’d been buried alive underneath mounds of snow, on a cold planet at that. Unlike Geonosis, she didn’t have anyone with her, and she hadn’t been buried as a result of an attempted self-sacrifice.

She shuddered, resisting the urge to close her eyes. If she fell unconscious now, all hope for her surviving would be erased. She remembered hearing advice on what to do should one be unable to avoid an avalanche. After being buried, a victim would have around fifteen minutes to be found, otherwise anyone searching for them might as well be searching for a frozen corpse.

It had already been at least five minutes since she woke up, leaving her with only ten minutes left to escape before she succumbed to death.

Her arm tensed up as she attempted to move it once more, only for it to remain where it was. She needed to clear more space in front of her, maybe even dig her way out, but she couldn’t free any of her limbs from their cold confinements. It would have helped if she’d stayed conscious long enough to make sure one of her arms or legs was above the surface before she’d been fully immersed in snow. If she’d been faster, she wouldn’t even be in this situation in the first place, _she’d be fine, but she wasn’t, and she was running out of time, and-_

She breathed in deeply, holding her breath for a few seconds before exhaling. At this point, she was inhaling her own breath, meaning she was essentially breathing carbon dioxide. It wouldn’t be long before she suffocated to death, and if she was found before then, she would still suffer from carbon dioxide poisoning and hypothermia.

Ahsoka did her best to keep her mind occupied and away from the negative thoughts, counting every second that passed as she fought to free herself. She tried not to move her head too much, for fear that she might cause the snow surrounding her to fill in the miniscule space she had to breathe. She stopped squirming whenever she thought she heard the snow shifting. Her blood ran cold, but it wasn’t the freezing temperature making her feel that way.

_Seven minutes._

She repeatedly told herself to stay calm, despite fear looming over her. Panicking would do nothing but make things worse for her, and yet, it was getting harder to fight it. If she started screaming for help, especially without knowing if anyone was nearby or not, she would waste oxygen. She couldn’t get her arms or legs free, nor could she dig through the snow, so would staying silent really save her?

Perhaps it could, if she directed her focus elsewhere. She knew Obi-Wan and _especially_ Anakin wouldn’t abandon her, even if there was only a small chance of her still being alive. They were likely searching for her right now... if they managed to escape the avalanche, that is. The possibility was low, given how far ahead they were of the incoming flood of snow, but it was still there.

She counted from one to three before shutting her eyes tightly, fighting the pull of unconsciousness and sinking as far as she could into the Force. It wasn’t much, given how weak she was growing and how limited her air was, but it was _something_. In a life or death situation like this, something was definitely better than nothing.

_Five minutes._

She searched for the familiar bright auras of Anakin and Obi-Wan, ignoring the rising desperation as she did. Every following second she spent without sensing either of them nearby was nothing short of torture. They couldn’t have left her, they _wouldn’t_ , so why couldn’t she find them? Did they think she was dead? Were they unable to sense her as well, with her being completely buried? She was pretty sure it was like that on Geonosis, except the Force bond she shared with her Master had grown exponentially since then, so it should be easier for them to find each other at this point.

Her heart skipped a beat when a glimmer of light pierced the darkness. It was bright and intense, brimming with concern and desperation, and she knew exactly who it belonged to. _Anakin!_ she shouted through their bond, not caring to use his title. _Anakin, I’m right here! I’m alive, I’m here! HELP!_

She expanded her presence in the Force as far as she could, pouring all of her energy and focus into reaching him. She wasn’t getting a response back, which slowly drained the hope she clung to. No matter how hard she tried, it wasn’t working, and she was getting weaker. She was starting to think she merely hallucinated that light, and wouldn’t that be cruel, to think a familiar source of safety and comfort was there, only to discover that it wasn’t actually there?

_Three minutes._

Ahsoka’s chest burned painfully with every breath she took. _I’m going to die,_ she thought hopelessly. This was it for her. She was going to die alone, and if her Masters did end up finding her, it would be too late. She never expected to end like this. Ever since the war started, she thought she would most likely die in the battlefield, sacrificing herself for the Republic, the Jedi, and her closest friends. She came so close to dying multiple times, and yet, this was about to be how she would end.

Despite all of that, she would still hold on. She would still keep going until the bitter end, even as she was so close to death. No matter what happened, she sure as hell wasn’t going to die without a fight.

_Two minutes._

It didn’t matter if the light was there or not; she cried for help as it grew closer, writhing underneath the snow with all she had. She no longer cared if what she was doing made the snow cave in on her, not when she had so little time left. Her thoughts ran wild, desperate and fearful, a final ragged scream tearing from her throat. Black dots danced in her vision as her voice gave out, her eyes nearly rolling back into her head. _Anakin... Obi-Wan... I’m sorry._

_One minute._

Her struggling ceased seconds before she thought she heard panicked voices just above her. They were muffled, like the wind, and much as she tried to focus on them, her mind was drifting too far away. Her montrals picked up the sound of hands digging through the snow, the voices getting louder as more of the frozen substance was tossed aside.

A hand brushed her arm, then grasped it tightly and pulled her up towards the surface. She didn’t fight back, her senses clouded to the point of not being able to recognize whoever was lifting her out of the snow. She initially didn’t open her eyes, not even after she was finally free, breathing cold but fresh air.

Her rescuer wrapped an arm around her, holding her up while they gently hooked their fingers beneath her chin and tilted her head up. Her heavy eyes fluttered open, a weak moan escaping her cold lips.

“Ahsoka?” the voice spoke softly. The amount of concern it carried almost _hurt_ , and immediately, she could tell who it was through the thick fog threatening to pull her under.

“M... Mast... er...” she choked out, breaking into a coughing fit. She could also see Obi-Wan kneeling on the ground next to her Master, relief in his eyes. They hadn’t abandoned her. They were here. She wasn’t going to die, and she was _safe_.

“I’m so sorry, little one,” Anakin murmured, barely heard by Ahsoka as he pulled her in, holding her close. “We’ve got you now. You’re gonna be okay.”

Her half-lidded gaze flicked over to Obi-Wan, who placed his hand on his former Padawan’s shoulder as a supportive gesture.

Despite everything, she managed a small yet pained smile before she allowed herself to drift, head hanging as she finally lost consciousness.


End file.
